The PLPOA annual meeting will be held Saturday, July 25, at the Pagosa Lakes Community Center on Port Avenue.

Social hour and voting will begin at 9 a.m., with a prompt start of the meeting at 10.

The purpose of the annual meeting is to elect property owners to fill the four regular vacancies for the board of directors; hear reports from the board and its standing committees; hear remarks from property owners; and consider other business.

Plan your remarks to last no longer than three minutes. Board members and other property owners present appreciate your thoughts, concerns and suggestions; however, the meeting agenda is very full, and the three-minute limit ensures that all business gets conducted. This doesn’t mean big issues can’t be presented. If your concern requires more time, please summarize it in three minutes, and the board will add it to the agenda for the next monthly meeting.

Don’t expect an immediate response; board members don’t act independently. All issues require discussion and sometimes a vote. Once in a while, an immediate answer is possible, but it’s just as likely that you won’t get a response until after the staff has had a chance to research the concern and the board is presented with sufficient information to help them make an informed decision.

Property owners in good standing as shown on a voter list certified at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, (60 days prior to the election), are encouraged to vote in person at the annual meeting, 9-10 a.m.

Please plan on attending your annual meeting — a meeting of property owners to voice their ideas and to give direction for the future planning of the association.

Elsewhere in this publication, you’ll see photos and articles covering the Devil Mountain Ultra Run and the Pagosa Duathlon. I’m so pleased that our local races garner such good participation — both local and out of town.

I place importance on local races so Pagosans are given the opportunity to participate right in our own backyard. The coming-out for most first-time competitors is rather stressful, but to be able to compete in an environment that is familiar (with ample opportunities to practice on the course), and in the company of supportive familiar faces, is important.

Committing to participating in a competitive event helps a person set a goal and then work toward improving the required skills to achieve the goal. I function best when I know what my goal is. I suspect that’s the case for most people. Successes at meeting goals create a winning psyche that strengthens a person’s self-confidence.

Not everyone is a gifted athlete. We’ve all had to overcome, just to be able to walk up to the race start line.

Those races also bring money into our local economy. The participants and their “cheering squads” sleep in hotels, eat in restaurants, soak in our hot springs and make purchases.

I personally wish to thank organizers of local races, given how much time, effort and worries go into organizing a race. And our local businesses that sponsor those races are to be commended, as well.